Appledashery

by Just Essay

Like a Listing Breeze

After flying for a full mile, Listing and Rainbow didn't land so much as they dropped. Breathless and witless, the two sprawled out across a patch of dry stone just south of a winding canyon. Pained bruises blotched their coats, and Rainbow could still hear the ringing in her ears from gunshots.

Minutes passed, and the ringing cleared away. In its place, Rainbow heard nothing but Listing's angry, raspy breath:

"...really?! You didn't bother to look behind you?!"

"Rnnghh..." Rainbow sat up, wincing from the fresh welt to the back of her shoulder. "Look... b-behind me?!"

"For the last two thugs!" Listing was frowning nonstop. "I told you that there were always two mules guarding the west exit!"

"Unnghhh..." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "I can't friggin' believe this..."

"What was that?!"

Rainbow Dash stood up. "You said that you would clear the guards out with your whole 'peddling junk' schtick!"

"Yeah... well..."

"And when you suddenly and spontaneously ditched the upstairs meeting room to come down and shop for loot with me in the armory—"

"Hey! I would have things covered if you were just fast enough!"

"Why?!" Rainbow gnashed her teeth. "Why are you always blaming crud like this on me?! Especially when it was you who messed it all up!"

"Don't start—"

"You." Rainbow frowned. "Messing up your plans!"

"We... st-still could have m-made it out if you weren't scrambling all over the place like a damned moron!"

"Scrambling around?!" Rainbow waved her forelimbs. "Listing, I was trying to cover for your stupid butt! I closed the front entrance of the vault so they wouldn't rush in and bash our brains out! You do remember hearing them rush in, don't you?!"

"Uhhh—"

"And who realized they were going to rush around the other side, huh?! I did! Which is why I had us rush west to the back entrance!" Rainbow frowned. "And I'm sorry about the guards but I was a tad bit busy worrying about getting the two of us out alive!"

"Can't believe you just left the Desert Hounds' bits."

"Gnnghhh..." Rainbow face-hoofed. "Do you even hear yourself? Is nothing... nothing that I'm saying getting through to you?"

"Don't use that tone with me," Listing said. "Only reason you're alive and kicking now is that I ran in and kicked those two mules' butts for you."

"That second guy was going to rip you to shreds!" Rainbow's voice cracked. "I grabbed his legs, remember?! Or are you too busy trying to come up with another way to blame this all on me?!"

"Huh?"

"'Cuz that's what it all boils down to, isn't it? You never think, Listy. You just... throw yourself at the moment and then when things don't float up the way you expect them to, you just blame the nearest pony in sight!"

"Rainbow, I saved you—"

"Or you just try to rearrange the situation so that you come out the hero!" Rainbow spat. "Listing, you messed up that entire operation! I admit! It was a simple concept at first, and I was actually a bit amazed that it was working so well! But—sure enough—you just had to be you and then everything went south!"

"I just wanted to fix some shit in my life, alright?!" Listing growled, waving her forelimbs. "Is that such a crime?!" She winced. "Er, I mean—"

"I get it," Rainbow droned. "Somewhere in that bird brain of yours, you thought that stealing even more stuff could make things even with you and the Desert Hounds."

"And if I won them over, I might have been able to work my way up to the top in Las Pegasus!" Listing exclaimed. "I could someday go back to Cloudsdale and fix things with the Red Cloud!"

"I know what you were aiming at, Listing..."

"It just... m-made so much sense at the time!"

"It was a gamble. A pretty big one. And you lost." Rainbow sighed. "You always gamble... and you always lose." A gulp. "I just... c-couldn't deal with that anymore... on top of everything else. And if nothing else proves the reason why, then you'll always have what happened today."

Silence.

"That was my last chance, Rainbow," Listing said. The mare gulped. "The stars aligned for that one single heist. Now the door is closed on the vault... literally."

Rainbow drew a hoof over her face, sighing.

"The Hump Gang will realize that they're being stalked. They'll branch out. They'll find my hideout and tear every piece of scrap to the ground. All opportunities here in Neighvada will be gone for me. I'll have to find a new place to stay. Someplace further west, perhaps, assuming the Desert Hounds don't get to me first."

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you burn too many bridges."

"But... there st-still may be a way to ingratiate myself to them," Listing said. She bit her lip.

Rainbow lifted her head and looked at her.

Listing stared back.

Rainbow sighed out her nostrils. In a cold voice, she murmured: "You want my nine hundred bits, don't you?"

"They'll treat me like a lap dog for months, but it's still a start." Listing Breeze gulped. "And I'll be safe, booger."

Rainbow sighed. She began pacing.

"It might take a year... maybe two. But I'll work my way up towards the top. Once I'm in a good enough position, I'll come up with a plan to win back the money I've lost here in Los Alamules."

"How, through another crazy heist?" Rainbow grumbled. "Or are you going to murder this time? I mean... how deep does the well go, Listy?!"

"It doesn't have to go any deeper, Rainbow. I'll... I-I'll fly straight this time!"

"While working for a bunch of melon fudges named the Desert Hounds?" Rainbow groaned. "It'll be like Cloudsdale all over again!"

"It won't be! I pr-promise!" Listing gulped, bearing a nervous smile. "I'll even prove it to you!"

"How?"

"You can stay here with me!"

"What, in Los Alamules?"

"No, in Las Pegasus, silly! It'll be like old times!"

Rainbow sighed, pacing and pacing.

"I-I-I mean it'll be different than old times! I'll work myself up to the top! The Desert Hounds will protect me and I will protect you!"

"But it's never different, is it, Listing?!" Rainbow spun to frown at her. "It always... always ends up the same."

"Yeah, well..." Listing swallowed. "Not this time, booger."

Rainbow sighed again.

"Just... h-help me out here... and... a-and I-I will make it up to you. I promise."

"Where have I heard that before?" Rainbow muttered.

"Huh?"

Rainbow said nothing. She trotted past a boulder, staring east along the darkening horizon. The distant haze of Las Pegasus glowed like a silver nugget against the black veil of evening.

"Rainbow...?"

"I'm thinking," Rainbow grunted, then continued to stare. Her ears twitched atop her head as she pondered, thought, contemplated.

Listing looked at her, blinking.

At last, Rainbow sighed. She turned around. "I'm going to Las Pegasus."

Listing's features instantly drooped. "What."

"Odds are, the police are looking all over the place for me right now," Rainbow said, muttering. "Which is fine. Cuz I'm gonna tell them all about the Hump Gang."

"You'll... tell..." Listing's eyes closed as she shook loose the cobwebs. "What."

"This all has to stop somewhere, Listing," Rainbow said. "Those mules have stolen from both Las Pegasus and the local buffalo who knows how many times, and there's no telling what they have planned in the future." Rainbow shrugged. "It's the best thing, don'tcha think?"

"Rainbow, if you think it'll end with the Hump Gang, you're a frickin' moron," Listing growled, the red hairs rising up on her back and neck. Two eyes pierced like yellow daggers. "That web sticks deeper than you can ever imagine. It'll bring down the Desert Hounds... it'll bring down me!"

"What do you expect me to do?!"

"Keep mum about it like a good, loyal friend!" Listing hissed. "I could go to jail too, y'know!"

"And would that really be any worse than constantly being on the run from anything and everything?! Fearing for your life twenty-four seven?!"

"They'll still get to me," Listing said. "Either in a cell or in a yard or on the friggin' bus to Celestia-knows-where." Listing shook her head. "It's too dangerous."

"It's a gamble, for sure, Listy." Rainbow nodded. "But—all things considered—it's the only gamble you can afford at this point in your life."

Fuming, Listing stood up straight, taking a bold step towards Rainbow Dash. "You are not going to the police with this. They probably already know about the Hump Gang and Desert Hounds. How else do you think they keep their stinkin' jobs in Las Pegasus? But you wouldn't know. You don't know anything about any of this, booger." She held a hoof out. "Just give me the bits. I'll work this out my way."

"They're my bits, Listy," Rainbow said. "So it's my decision." She turned about with a sigh. "First order of business is telling Vinyl and the rest that I'm okay—"

And it was precisely at that moment in time when a fire-red hoof flew viciously across Rainbow's face.

WHACK!

Comments

[Hestia]

LISTING BREEZE!!!!

I AM SO MAD YOU I CAN'T EVEN!!!

[I Thought I Was Toast]

There it is. Should I retract my previous statement? It's hard to tell how much of that punch was desperation for control versus desire for control versus simple anger issues... Does it count as being abusive if the abuser is just a much a victim of circumstance? I mean, Listing seems to be Rainbow gone wrong, and I just can't hate her now that I've seen her. All I really feel for her is pity that she just doesn't get it. At least I can root for Rainbow as she destroys her life... Listing just makes me sad...

[Khao]

7237960

Does it count as being abusive if the abuser is just a much a victim of circumstance?

Yes.

Especially when she's not actually a "victim" and is absolutely to blame for her current situation no matter how you twist it.

[zaponator]

Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

[FloydienSlip]

7238671 :D

[DrEggnog]

Listing is so human. She is very, very, VERY flawed, but in a strange way, I can see why Rainbow got with her in the first place. The way her stupidity and rationality levels fluctuate so much feels very true to life, and isn't something you see much in fiction.

You know, the idea of Listing straight up attacking Rainbow was floating around in my head, but I didn't think she would actually do it, and yet I am not surprised at all.

[Sam the Anti-Ninja]

"They're my bits, Listy," Rainbow said. "So it's my decision." She turned about with a sigh. "First order of business is telling Vinyl and the rest that I'm okay—"

And it was precisely at that moment in time when a fire-red hoof flew viciously across Rainbow's face.

WHACK!

Saw that coming.
...
Too bad Rainbow didn't.

[BabySkittleMonster]

Sigh... Welp, I saw that coming. As did every single one here, I reckon. Perhaps we're all just jaded, cynical and bitter. Still, I can't help but feel sorry. Both for Rainbow having her trust thrown back in her face again and for Listing, who just proved that as desperate as she may be to change, she hasn't matured one bit. A shame, really. What a waste of her potential, slumming it with gangs.

[Typoglyphic]

Whoop! There it is.

Let's be honest, there was no way this arc was going to go smoothly for either of them from the very beginning.

[JAK0723]

7240412
I was honestly surprised, I was not expecting Listing to actively injure Dash after Listing helped her get out of the vault. I'm still hoping that she'll feel really bad for hitting Dash, but I guess I might just be naive.

[Seraphimus]

7240412 I've been in an abusive relationship before. And whilst mine never got physical, the moment that bit bag got left behind I knew this was coming.

[arancaytar]

Rainbow sighed out her nostrils. In a cold voice, she murmured: "You want my nine hundred bits, don't you?"

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT RAINBOW.

WHACK!

Well, I honestly can't say any of us could have seen that one coming.

[bronyheat]

Cogitator sequencing
Transferring hate vectors
target: STU LEAVES deleted from database
target: LISTING BREEZE added to database